RETAILER LIFE CYCLE

The retail life cycle concept states that retail institutions--like the goods and services they sell--pass through identifiable life stages: introduction (early growth), growth (accelerated development), maturity, and decline. 

Introduction Stage

As the name implies, the introduction is the beginning stage of any business, characterized by innovation and industry expansion.Introductory stage stores should be prepared for low profits due to high development costs

Growth Phase

 As you grow, your profits increase and customers rave about your brand.The challenge in this stage is to keep innovating enough so you have something new and exciting for your customers each time they visit.

Maturity Phase

Once you are fully established in this stage, the firm will have a lot of competition and the  store defines it industry instead of feeling new and different. Competition even may increase to the point where the industry overexpands, leading to declining profits and reduced customer loyalty. As this happens, prices begin to drop and your competitors try to lure back customers with great deals

Decline

If you are unable to innovate sufficiently to keep your business new and fresh and enters the last phase of the retail life cycle: decline. At this point, a firm business may seem out of date and boring to customers. Other retailers have caught their attention, and it's difficult to lure those customers back.